At only 18 years old, Nicky Ryan is celebrating getting promoted to his brown belt by legendary jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher. Here's what Nicky had to say about his promotion:

"Today I received my brown belt from @danaherjohn. I just want to say thank you to the 3 people in this photo @garrytonon @danaherjohn and @gordonlovesjiujitsu for all they have done for me. If it weren't for these guys I would still be some fat loser who did nothing but eat and play video games all day ?. Instead they turned me into one of the best nogi competitors in the world and I will forever be grateful for that." - Full Post

During ADCC 2019, Nicky competed against one of the greatest figures in the sport today, Paulo Miyao. Although Nicky lost to Paulo by one point, Danaher believes it was ultimately a referee's mistake and the match should have gone into overtime. 

After ADCC, we sat down with Danaher to discuss Nicky's performance, and this is what John had to say.

John Danaher Discusses Nicky Ryan at ADCC

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In the past years, Nicky has come up victorious against grappling legends such as Shane Jamil Hill-Tayor, 10th Planet black belt Geo Martinez, and UFC veteran Urijah Faber. 

His projection as a future superstar of the sport looks almost guaranteed, especially with the help of Gordon Ryan, Danaher, and everyone else in the blue basement. Congratulations Nicky, and best of luck to all the brown belts you encounter.